Brittany McLawhorn, and five other New Bern soccer players, were sophomores when the Bears reached the 4-A state semifinals in 2011.

At a youthful age, they made a impact on that squad.

As their high school careers wind down, they are hoping to leave their own mark as seniors.

New Bern (9-6-1, 5-3-1), currently sitting in third place in the Mideastern Conference, hosts J.H. Rose on Thursday for senior night and its regular-season finale.

“I don’t think any of us want to lose on senior night,” McLawhorn said. “We have never lost to Rose, so we want like a 5-0 win. It’s a big game for us.”

The Bears are playing their best soccer of the season. They’ve outscored their last conference opponents, 22-3. For the season, New Bern’s outscored the opposition 41-13.

The senior-laden group is scoring in bunches.

“We are coming together as a team,” McLawhorn said. “Playoffs are coming up, and we have a couple players injured, so we have to work 10 times harder because we lost a starter.”

McLawhorn leads the Bears with 12 goals. Fellow senior forward Sierra Bondurant has been a key member of the offense for four years.

“Going into this year, everyone was looking for us to but when you look at the scoring, there are a lot of people who have scored. Sierra and I work together pretty well. We know we can look for each other.”

Senior midfielders Shannon Fagan and Ashley Osiecki have also provided timely goals. Fagan netted a goal in New Bern’s 4-0 win over Laney on Monday. Osiecki scored in the Bears’ 7-0 victory over Ashley High School on Thursday.

“When we score goals, we are pretty good,” said New Bern coach Tim Guter. “If we score two or three goals, we put people on their heels.”

The seniors take charge up top, but several underclassmen are following along. Zoe Hearne, River Bondurant, Rachel Hobbs and Kristina Barnett are proving the Bears have a bright future ahead of them.

New Bern’s defense, sparked by senior goalkeeper Morgan Young and senior Shelby Osiecki, has eight shutouts.